Sheffield Hallam University Research Articles

An Evaluation of MINDFIT—A Student Therapeutic Running Group as a Multi-Layered Intervention in the United Kingdom

Mental health is an ever-increasing concern for UK Universities and is underreported. Creative and dynamic approaches to tackle student wellbeing are important. In 2018, Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) Student Wellbeing Service initiated a pilot study of a therapeutic running programme 'MINDFIT' that combined physical activity, led by a counsellor, alongside a psychoeducation approach to support student mental health. Mixed methods were used which included the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), evaluating low mood and depression, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 (GAD-7), evaluating levels of anxiety. A total of 28 students were triaged onto a weekly programme over three semesters. Overall, 86% of the participants completed the programme. A promising reduction in the scores for PHQ-9 and GAD-7 was found at the end of the programme. Focus groups, with student participants, were held to gather qualitative data for analysis. After thematic analysis, three main themes emerged: "Creating a safe community", "Making progress" and "Pathways to success". MINDFIT was an effective and engaging multi-layered therapeutic approach. Recommendations identified the importance and effectiveness of the triage process in recruiting students and sustainability of the programme through the continued engagement of students post programme. More research is required to identify the long-term effects of the MINDFIT approach and how applicable it is to higher education contexts.

New cooperativism seminar series – Review

In 2021, the UK Society for Co-operative Studies (UKSCS) formed an editorial board with the European Research Institute for Cooperative and Social Enterprise (EURICSE), the EMES International Research Network (EMES), and Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) to organise a seminar series on “new cooperativism”. Each seminar followed a strict research protocol to elicit narratives from experts in the field. An experienced facilitator introduced and interviewed panellists before dividing seminar participants into breakout groups. Members of each breakout group reported on their discussions and debates before panellists gave closing statements. In this article, I review videos and transcripts of the seminars. These not only reveal how new cooperativism was framed by the editorial board during the seminar series, but also presents findings that suggest a new consensus amongst practitioners and researchers. By rejecting neoliberal doctrine, grassroots movements are fostering a culture of mutuality that supports co-operative development and accounting practices aligned to sustainable development.

Social Work Skills Days – ‘Keeping It Real’

As part of the South Yorkshire Teaching Partnership, a part time secondment of a Practice Consultant was made to the Sheffield Hallam University (SHU). The remit was to contribute to teaching from a practitioner's viewpoint. One example of curriculum development was working with the Social Work Skills lead on the report writing and court skills days offered on the BA Social Work course. The skills days on report writing and court skills, had previously been delivered separately. By using the same case study and linking the report writing to the evidence submitted as part of the court bundle, students could see the importance of ensuring their writing was clear, factual, and demonstrated analysis of the case. This strengthened their written and legal skills. When students were presented with a full court bundle on the same case, they could compare their writing to the examples in the bundle. This enabled them to critically reflect on their own writing and whether it would stand up to scrutiny during cross-examination. It offered students the opportunity to learn to write for different purposes and reflect on the tools and techniques of writing and developing their professional voice.

Student nurses\u2019 career intentions following placements in general practice through the advanced training practices scheme (ATPS): findings from an online survey

BackgroundThe demand for General Practice services in the UK, and elsewhere, is rising quickly. In part, the increasing demand is from an aging population that requires management of multiple long-term conditions. The General Practice Nurse is increasingly taking on the role. It is acknowledged that if general practice is to be able to recruit sufficient General Practice Nurses (GPNs) to meet this increasing demand in the future, new graduate nurses must be encouraged to consider general practice as a viable career option. This research is part of a review of the Advanced Training Practice Scheme (ATPS) which supported clinical placements in participating general practices.MethodsThe aim of the study was to examine nursing students’ perceptions of GP placements, and their effect upon career intentions following graduation from Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), in the UK. Interviews and an online survey were used collect data. Only the survey is reported here. The bespoke survey examined students’ views of: opportunities for learning new clinical skills and consolidating existing clinical skills; the learning environment in general practice and their views on a career in general practice.ResultsOne thousand one hundred twenty undergraduate adult-field nursing students were contacted, with a response rate of 41% (N = 462). Ninety respondents had a placement and, 92% (N = 84) viewed practice nursing positively, and 77% (N = 70) felt that the placement had transformed their views on general practice. The opportunity to participate in the management of the various aspects of chronic disease was identified by 84% (N = 76) of the students as a key new skill they had acquired. They also reported that they valued a team ethos, control over aspects of work, and the variety of health problems they encountered.ConclusionThe findings from this study demonstrate a positive experience arising from the provision of General Practice placements for nursing students. The use of ‘targeted’ placement schemes with appropriate support such as this may be seen as a viable way of exposing nursing students to General Practice nursing, and of encouraging new graduate nurses to consider General Practice nursing as a viable career option.

Pedagogy first: Realising technology enhanced learning by focusing on teaching practice

AbstractThis paper explores a “pedagogy first” approach to technology enhanced learning developed by Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) as a method to encourage use of, and experimentation with, technology within teaching practice and to promote the mainstreaming of innovative practice. Through a consultative approach where all staff members were invited to contribute, SHU has created a Teaching Approaches Menu that reflects practice at the institution and can be used to explore teaching practice and appropriate supporting technology either by individuals or as part of a facilitated discussion. Background to the project is provided, along with the design philosophy and approach, including a brief review of other frameworks. The Teaching Approaches Menu is introduced, its development outlined, and some initial feedback is presented.

Education for Professional Engineering Practice

This paper reports on a funded collaborative large-scale curriculum innovation and enhancement project undertaken as part of a UK National Higher Education Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programme. Its aim was to develop undergraduate curricula to teach appropriate skills for professional engineering practice more effectively. Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) led the project with Loughborough and London South Bank Universities as partners. Project advisers included Imperial College London and Coventry University. The four collaborative project objectives were to: develop an approach to interdisciplinary cross-year integration and professional team practice, project management, learning, teaching and assessment; develop cross-year student support systems to aid the above; develop the assessment of professional skills; and evaluate and disseminate the project outcomes to the wider STEM community. The activity allowed partners to trial and test a rounded implementation in each institution involving academic taught material, practical laboratory-based project work, together with an appropriate support structure for operation across a range of undergraduate courses.

Provision of Distance Learner Support Services at U.K. Universities: Identification of Best Practice and Institutional Case Study

An investigation of library support for distance learners (DLs) was commissioned and conducted in partnership with the Distance Learning Support Service (DLSS) at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU). It aimed to collect evidence of best practice at U.K. university libraries and develop a better understanding of the needs and expectations of distance learners at SHU. The study used a mixed-methods research strategy. A review of the literature established key themes and informed the design of the data collection tools. Librarians from two different institutions were interviewed, and two separate self-completion questionnaires were distributed to librarians at U.K. universities and DLs at SHU. Sixty-six librarians (forty-one completed in full) and 112 DLs (109 completed in full) responded to the questionnaires distributed. Results showed limited use of synchronous virtual reference and user-education tools. The biggest challenge faced by librarians is collaborating with course tutors. A marked difference exists between what librarians believe are the most significant challenges faced by DLs and what DLs identify as challenges. Librarians need to experiment with technological innovations, such as synchronous virtual referencing tools, to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of future service provision.

Developing the Concept of Digital Literacy in the Context of Schools and Teacher Education

AbstractThis paper draws on initial findings of a project ‘Digital Futures in Teacher Education’ (DeFT) undertaken in 2011–12 as part of the third phase of the JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) UK Open Educational Resources (OER) programme. It discusses issues emerging from the claim that the open source movement is a form of collaboration and considers this in the context of attempts to embed OER practice in the UK within the teacher education sector and to develop guidance on practice in teaching and learning in the school sector involving digital literacy. Accordingly, the project team, based at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) and The University of Sheffield (TUOS), worked towards release of OERs, in the form of an Open Textbook (Connexions 2009: What are open textbooks? Available from: http://cnx.org/content/m15226/latest/), which address the opportunities and challenges of creative and innovative uses of digital literacy in the context of the school and teacher education sectors. Working w...

Issues about access: serials information in an academic context: a case study

A case study of serials management practice (print and e-journal serials) in the Learning Centre (LC) at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), UK. It examines traditional areas of serials management, namely: budget management; selection criteria; biblio

Supporting the Learning of Deaf Students in Higher Education: a case study at Sheffield Hallam University

This article is an examination of the issues surrounding support for the learning of deaf students in higher education (HE). There are an increasing number of deaf students attending HE institutes, and as such provision of support mechanisms for these students is not only necessary but essential. Deaf students are similar to their hearing peers, in that they will approach their learning and require differing levels of support dependant upon the individual. They will, however, require a different kind of support, which can be technical or human resource based. This article examines the issues that surround supporting deaf students in HE with use of a case study of provision at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), during the academic year 1994‐95. It is evident that by considering the needs of deaf students and making changes to our teaching practices that all students can benefit.